WVU Assistant Coaches Quotes

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University football assistant coaches sat down with members of the media earlier today at the Milan Puskar Center.

Defensive Coordinator Keith Patterson

On decisions of who is No. 1 and No. 2 on the depth chartWhen we get through Saturday we will have a pretty well defined two-deep. That doesn’t mean guys can’t continue to improve two weeks prior to a game, but what we are trying to do as a staff is to define everybody’s role. I think we are much closer than what we were at the beginning of this week.

On what has been learned from watching film of campThe best thing that has happened over the course of the last two weeks of camp is that we are trying to cram a bunch of young men into a system. We are trying to fit our players into our system. I think that we defined that. The thing we stress as coaches to our players is that we are always coaching effort and the details of assignments. There has been a major emphasis on focusing and coaching with a critical eye and getting our guys to refine the scheme now that they understand it. We want them to not just know their reasonability but know and refine the techniques in order to carry those responsibilities out.

On what they are doing wellI think our kids are playing with great effort. I like how our kids are buying into sound fundamentals and controlling their feet on the snap of the ball and getting their eyes on where they are suppose to be looking at. It sounds very simplistic, but when you are moving people and you are changing your anchor points up front and playing different coverages, what you are suppose to be looking at changes constantly, especially if you are a second-level player. Therefore, we are trying to create the discipline within yourself to be able to control your feet before the snap of the ball to eliminate wasted movement and to be able to fix and focus your eyes on your key to be able to play fast each and every snap.

Offensive Coordinator Shannon Dawson

On seeing glimpses of good play from guysIt was extremely frustrating for the most part of practice, so there were certain motivational tactics used by a couple of the coaches and myself, and finally they just started playing fast. You are dealing with a bunch of new guys from either high school or junior college, and it is a different game here. You are not going to get open when you jog routes. You have to stress your body or you can’t expect to get open.

On narrowing reps into the start of the seasonRight now, we are a couple of weeks out and eventually in the next two or three days we will start limiting reps. We can tell who has the potential and capacity and who doesn’t. We are going to start pouring reps into guys pretty quick. We are never going to come together offensively like we want to if we don’t get settled on certain people. I am not just talking about starters. These are a group of guys, and one of them will be a starter and one of them will be a back-up. We cannot rep four deep because then you are getting one-fourth of the reps instead of at least 50 percent of the reps.

On the number of receivers that will be in the mixThere will probably be no more than eight. There will be four outside receivers and three to four inside receivers. That is the way it always has been. I do not know if it will ever be more than that. That leads into what I was saying before - we have been repping a whole lot of guys, and we need to start fine-tuning who we are repping, and now is the time. The patience level that I talked about at the beginning of camp to now with new guys has gotten thinner because at this point, with what we do offensively, you should know what to do.

Offensive Line Coach Ron Crook

On the depth at offensive lineI think that (redshirt-freshman) Tony Matteo has come a long way with what he's been doing inside. (Redshirt-sophomore) Russell Haughton-James has come a long way. We're still hoping that when (redshirt-freshman Adam) Pankey gets back that he'll be able to step in and help us out. We've got a few guys, and hopefully there are enough guys there that we can get at least one more person to be ready by mid-season and heading down the stretch.

On not using too much depthI don't think you ever want to have too many people because then you're cutting reps from other people who need that work. You can't try to get too many people ready.

On redshirt-senior offensive lineman Pat EgerI think the biggest thing that he does (is that) he is one of those guys who has been through a lot of battles. He's been out there and has seen a lot of things. So, he can communicate very well and (he) takes an active leadership role and helps get the whole group on the same page.

Defensive Line coach Erik Slaughter

On sophomore Eric KinseyHe's definitely made a lot of progress from last week to this week. We have to continue to do that and finish the week strong. His body has been nagging, just like everybody in America who plays on the D-line right now in camp. He's got to push through that a little bit. Obviously, he's gotten a lot better.

On sticking to just one position for Kinsey instead of moving him aroundWe haven't moved them around much yet, with the exception of a couple guys who have been here. He's doing one thing, and I don't think it's fair to him to ask him to do multiple things. We want to make sure we narrow his responsibilities and let him play fast. He's definitely athletic, he's explosive and he can change a game. My job is not to slow that down. I don't want to hamper his ability to play with those strengths by loading him up too much. I don’t want to do that.

On Kinsey's strengthsHe has the ability to do all of it pretty well. He's an explosive guy. He is very talented, he's heavy, he's strong and he's powerful. He's got all of it. There really is nothing he can't do. It's just learning now when to do it right and at a high tempo. But he's getting there. They all are.

On who can play multiple positions(Redshirt-sophomore) Kyle Rose can. We really haven't gotten into our dime stuff yet; that’s where we'll do more of that. We just now got into our nickel stuff. Kyle can definitely do that. Kinsey has the ability to do that. (Redshirt-freshman) Noble (Nwachukwu) has the ability to do that. We have quite a few guys who can line up across the front.